Signments



W. A; STUART BLAST FURNACE Original Filed Dec. 27 1924 3 Sheets-SheetlINVENTOR W." A. STUART B11551 FURNACE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 Original FiledDec. 2'7. 1924 Jan. 7, 1930. Re. 17,551 23 .4. Z

5 1 1 1 i b I/ 7% l 6, h 7

Reiaaued Jan. 7, 1930 UNITED STATES a (201,948, died June 28, 1927.

This invention relates to blast furnaces and the like, and moreparticularly to the construction of a heat resistant lining therefor,the invention constituting a continuation of the invention shown in myapplication, Serial No. 7 58,483, filed December 27, 1924.

Blast furnaces as usually constructed are considerably wider at theirbases than at I their tops, being of gradually decreasing di- -l0 ameterupwardly. They generally have an exterior metal shell within which is arefractory wall or lining built up of specially formed blocks orrefractory ricks. This lini in order to have a maximum strength, I aheadhave the blocks set as close to each 1 other as possible, and the blocksin each course and row of the wall should break joints with the blocksof adjacent courses and rows in every possible direction. Fur- :8thermore, the inner face of the furnace must be kept as smooth and evenas possible, notwit nding the gradual increase in diameter 0 thefurnace. Because of the non-uniform diameter of v the structure, ithasheretofore been impossible with the blocks adopted as thestand- Vard, to systematically build up .the wall and i decrease its diameterwithout. spacing the blocks to an extent entirely inconsistent withwhatwould be tolerable as sound practice in ordinary straight wallmasonry, and it has beentimpossible to break the joints to the extentdesirable for maximum strength, escially under the pressureand thermalconftions existent in a blast furnace.

I According to the present invention, it is proposed to 'provide alining construction aced with res ct to each other to insure isgebreaking 0 all joints and provide for the uniform setting of blocksnotwithstanding the non-uniform diameter of the structure. H A furtherimportant urpose of my invention is to provide bloc s and a method oflaying the same wherein the symmetrical decrease ofdiameter from thebase up may be secured, and wherein the number of blocks of difierentshapes is minimized, eliminating any requirements for special shapes forthe whereimtheblocks may be most efficiently PATENT OFFICE WALLACE A.STUART, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE AS-IIGNIEN'I'S, '10 INLAND-STUART LININGS, INC., A CORPORATION OF DELAWAREBLAST FURNACE oriflnel No. 1,638,688, dated June 14, 1927, Serial No.758,483, filed December 27, 1924. Continued and application filedJanuary 26, 1926, Serial No. 83,847.

Reissue No. 17,325, dated June 11, 1929, Serial 1T0. 331,823, filedJanuary 10, 1929. This application for reissue filed November 1, 1929.Serial 1T0. 404,186.

Reissue No. 16,697, dated August 9, 1927, Serial standard liningconstruction or any necessity for a reat number of individually dif'ferent bloc s.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a wallstructure in furnaces which can be assembled with greater ease andaccuracy than walls of the present type.

According to m invention, it is also proposed that the blbcks, forconvenience of handling, may be of dimensions approaching those nowcommonly used.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a blastfurnace having a lining embodying the present invention therein,portions of the furnace being represented as being broken away toshowthe lining;

Figure 2 is a. sta ered horizontal section in the plane of line III ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical section through a portion of the wall, thesection being taken on line IIIIII.of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a staggered horizontal section in the plane of line IVIV ofFigure 1;

Figure 5 is a partial section through another portion of the wallstructure wherein there are four rows ofblocks; and

Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of key 3nd straight blocks,respectively.

In the drawings, 2 designatesthe shell of a blast furnace having a baseportion 3. The shell has a lining 4 embodying the present inventioncomprised of several concentric rows of blocks so arranged.in'horizontal courses thatall of the joints break withthe joints ofadjacent blocks.

In practice,the blocks will preferably have the len hs now commonlyadopted as standard. or instance, as a matter of general practice, theblocks are made in nine inch and thirteen and a half inch lengths andthe longer and shorter blocks in the different concentric rows arestaggered to break joints.

In accordance with my present invention, I have, in each concentric row,key blocks 5 and straight blocks 6. To determine the width of the keyblocks for the inner row, I take as a base dimension, the smallestinternaldiameter of the furnace cavity 7. I find the circumference ofthecircle whose diameter'is equal to this dimension, and divide" this intoan equal number of parts whereupon the widthfirtheinner face :Of'thekeybrick is obtained.-

In dividing, I take anumber which will give me a brick of a dimensioncomparable to the standard furnace lining brick so that the blocks canbe easily handled. The sides of the blocks'are radial" to the centerofthe circle-having the base diameter. The blocks for each concentricrow will have an inner end whose width is equal to the outer dimensionof the adjacent inner brick, the key bricks in the outer rows alsohaving radial sides.

one set'ot key blocks is suflicient as long as the structure is of theminimum diameter, but obviouslywould not,in themselves, bejsuflicient ethe diameter of the cavity exceeds the base 'ameter. In the presentinventi'on, Iftake into consideration the fact that with each increaseor decrease of one inch 5, diametc'rfthere' is-an increase or decreaseof 311416 inches in'the circumference, the circumferenoe being equal tothe diameter times i.

I, therefore, make straight sided filler blocks 6 to be used with theincrease in diameter thewidth of which bears a definite ratio to pi,Obviouslythe' width of the straight blocks 6 could bethe numerical valueof pi. expressed in inches, i. e., 3.1416 inches, but for convenienceand "inorderto make the key blocks and straight blocks of more uniformsize and more nearlycompara'ble to the size of present blocks, 1preferably make the blocks v6 equal'to 3.1416 inches plus a simplefraction thereof, preferably one and a half times pi. that is,approximately 4.71 inches. "In using the bloc s 6,"on e straightblockwill be adde'devery time the diameter increases one'in'ch, provided thewidth of the straight block were 3.1416 inches, or a straight block 11will be added to each row-in each course with every increase in diameterof an inch and a half in the "diameter if the width of the straightblocks is one and a half times 3.1416 inches.

As a specific illustration, the normal smallest diameter in a blastfurnace is'twel've feet. jI divide a circle having a twelve footdiameterinto ninety-six parts, obtainingga dimension of 4.71 inches forthe width of the inner 'face of the key brick. This dimension is one anda half times 3.1416 inches. I adopt the "same dimension as the width ofthe straight blocks 6 so that for every increase in diameter of one anda half inches, there is added to theninety-six key blocks one straightblock. i I 1111a stead ,0; decreasing or increasing the diameter insteps of one and a half inches,that several v5 horizontal courses belaid in which there is the g'the blocks, it is preferable that in samenumber of blocks and in gradually destance, is reached, there will beadded twentyfour straight-blocks. Obviously all ofthese strai ht blockscould not be disposed side by side, ut they must be interposed betweenthe ke blocks to the" best advantage.

n the lay-ing of a lining, the work is, of course, started at thebottom, and the wall built, the lower part expanding to a portion ofmaximum diameter at the bosh 8'. Above this point the furnace decreasesin diameter for a considerable distance upwardly. The first courseislaid with the necessary number of straight blocks and the fixed numberof key blocks common to every course in the inner row and with theconcentric outer rows. The number of blocks in the outer rowscorresponds to. the number in the inner row inasmuch as the keyblocksin'the outer rows preferably have an inner widthequal to the outer widthof the ad'acent blocks in the next inner row, but with t e straightblocks of'uniform size throu hout. The blocks in each outer row breakoints with the adjacent inner row a distance'equal to one-half thewidthof the key blocks of the inner row. The'key' and straight blocks. aredistributed around the circle as evenly as possible.

Other courses are laid on the first. building a wall of increasingdiameter, as in the lower part of .the' furnace, the blocks inthecourses are spaced further apart until the diameter has beengradually expanded the necessary fixed increment when another straightblock is added. 'In building the portion of the wall ofdecreasingdiameter, the reverse process is followed, the blocks of the coursesbeingmore closely spaced'until the diameter I has decreased thegiven'increment when a straight block can be removed. In the laying ofall courses of the same number of its bl'ocks,-the blocks" are so placedthat the vertical transverse joints will be shifted with respect tothejoints of ,adjacent courses a distance less than half the width of ablock,

gauging always from the same edge of the blocks. A shift of aboutone-quarter a block is preferable.

This may be easily followed in Figures 2. and 3' where lines 9 arehalf-way between lines 10 and 11 in a transverse direction and lines 12are shifted a quarter width with respect to lines 13 and 14. In thismanner, the vertical joints in each direction willbreak throughout theWallstructure. "The joints between rows also break, as shown by lines 15in Figure 3, due to the staggering of blocks of different length in therespective rows.

As previously stated, the straight bricks are distributed among the keybric s in each course and row as uniformly as possible. Thus, the liningmay be built up evenly and rapidly. In Figure 4 I have illustrated thesymmetrical manner in which the wall is developed. The blocks in bracesb and b are so arate groups of key blocks 5 with a straig t block 6 atthe end of each brace. In this view, I have indicated the radius of thebase circle from which the dimension of the key blocks is determined asd while a is the center of the furnace. Lines f, g and z are projectedfrom the sides of straight blocks toward the centers of curvature c ofthe blocks in braces b and 6. These lines, it will be noted, aresubstantially tangent to a concentric' circle e whose diameter is thewidth of a block 6. It will also be noted in this view how the centers 0fall on a circle 71. whose diameter is equal to the distance between theactual diameter of the structure and the diameter of the base circle,thereby showing the uniformity with which the structure may bedeveloped. The inner faces of the key or segmental blocks which are insubstantially the form of wedge frustums, as shown in detail in Figure6, may be curved or straight, as desired.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the lining of the structuremay be systematically developed with a minimum number of sizes of blocksand with assurance that all vertical 'oints will break with those ofadjacent blocks. The only joints not being broken are those betweencourses where the vertical weifit of the superimposed structure rendersthe eaking of oints unnecessary. There is little fitting of the blocksrequired, so that the bricklayer may proceed rapidly, thereby aconsiderable saving in the labor costs, he blocks are closely positionedwith respect to one another, thereby increasing the strength of the walland providing a structure wherein a greater life is secured by reason ofthe fact that the maximum resistance is established to penetration ofgases and other substances.

Another important advantage resides in the fact that a very closeestimate of the number of each size of block required for each furnacecan be accurately calculated, whereas it was heretofore a matter ofguesswork for engineers to figure the approxlmate number of bricksrequired.

-Wlile I describe the invention as pertaining particularly to blastfurnace construction,-it is not confined to this specific use. I

have also specifically described a particular plan for setting thestraight bricks, but do not restrict myself to thls particular andprecise method of construction, as the bricklayer may proceed accordingto his best judgment. Neither do I'wish the invention to be confined toparticular dimensions, preferred dimensions having merely been given byway of illustration, and that instead of each straight block havin awidth equal to pi. times an inch and a ha f, its width could ual pi.times an fixed increment of diametrical increase. Virious other changesand modifications are also within the spirit of my invention. 7

In the specification and claims, the term course is to be understood asa horizontal layer of blocks, and the term row is used to designate theconcentric rings of blocks. In each row in each course there is always aset of key blocks, and these key blocks; are sufiicient, if laid side byside without straight blocks toalways turn a circle, as will be readilyunderstood from the fore oing description. The term a set of key bfocks,as hereinafter used in the claims, therefore means just the exact numberof Wedge frustums or segmental blocks necessary for turning a circle towhich the sides of the block are radial whenthe blocks are laid side byside without intervening straight blocks.

I claim:

1. A circular furnace wall construction of non-uniform diameter made upof blocks laid in horizontal courses, each course having a plurality ofconcentric rows of blocks, each row containing a complete set of keyblocks having radial sides and which have substantially the form ofwedge frustums of a circle, said set of key blocks being capable ofturnlng a complete circle when laid side by side, the key blocks in therespective rows being wedge frustums of concentric circles, each rowwhose diameter is greater than the diameter of the circle of which itskey blocks are Wedge frustums having at least one straight-sided blocktherein, the number of key blocks in each of the rows of a course beingequal and the number of strai ht-sided blocks in each row of a course aso being equal,'the width of the inner ends of the key blocks in eachconcentric row outwardly bemg the same as the outer width of the keyblocks in the next adjacent inner row, the strai ht-sided blocks allhaving the same widt the blocks of each row of the same course beinglaterally ofl'set with respect to the blocks of an ad acent row as tobreak 'oints, the blocks in each row of a course eing laterally offsetwith respect to the corresponding rows of adjacent courses so as tobreak vertical joints therewith, and the blocks of the inner and outerrows of a course being of a length different from that of the blocks inthe corresponding rows of the next adjacent courses so that the verticaljoints between the ends of the blocks are broken.

2. A circular furnace wall construction of non-uniform diameter havingblocks laid in w @ircle E ete (01111213 whemlaid 'elfieby :sidg, the keyimscmlm as spamsflfiedaby we i ht mi 1 nilmality ref 1mm, each rawmmzrng in omlpletve mat of News Japwmg mules and whieh :harw!suhatranhnflmtdaeziammi wedgefimshwn new capable mi tumngaeb m-815G115!" -tolflneniblocksvoi the comefipand gmpwlpttheinext wu se saasztebneak ver, eel gomtsltheremleh, the lank Leach mgw 9f almumsehamnghheirepds whiehrare xthm th W91 :man 0memlnmpxng reletmn m the end:Q he blo k i ibe onreeponding rows ofthe next adgiaeentveaumesrso Mintthe vertical joints between the ends of 161% blocks 6 39301588.

. I have hereunto get my handn .WALLAGE A. -.S.TUART.

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